Although the present disclosure may be applied in a variety of applications, it was developed for use with gas turbine filter systems. Gas turbine systems are useful in generating electricity. These types of systems are particularly convenient in that they can be constructed quickly; they are also desirable because they produce fewer harmful emissions than coal or oil based turbine systems. Gas turbines utilize air for combustion purposes. Due to the precision moving parts in these types of systems, the combustion air needs to be clean. To ensure clean air for combustion, air filters have been used to clean the air taken into the gas turbine system.
Filters are used to purify the air intake for gas turbines. The filter media used for the purification, over time, will load with contaminant. Filters are used until they are plugged (contaminant blocks all flow through the media) or until a predetermined restriction level is reached. Both are associated with flow and the work necessary to move the flow. Either too little fluid is allowed to flow through, or too much work is required to move the desired flow due to the higher restriction.